1. Field of the Invention
The invention is used in the field of fabricated enclosures, particularly heavily insulated enclosures such as freezers, refrigerators and the like, although the construction may be used for many other purposes. More particularly, the invention relates to the supporting means for a latch mechanism for joining abutting panels or sections of such a structure together, which latch mechanism clamps the sections firmly together and provides sealing pressure to prevent leakage through the abuttments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In various commercial and industrial installations, the requirements for insulated enclosures may exceed the dimensions of normal structures or of the usual industrial cooler units, for example. In such cases, the insulated enclosure is manufactured of panels or sections which may be added one to another until it is of a size to meet the requirements. The use of interlocking sections provides a high degree of flexibility and the joints must be properly aligned and sealed so as to avoid leakage. In order to provide such a construction, latching means for the interlocking panels have been heretofore utilized, such as that shown, for example, in William O. Burke, U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,244 issued June 29, 1965 for Sectional Cooler Latch. Similar latches have been secured to interlocking sections as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings of the present application.
In such constructions, extensions have been secured to housings which support the complementary latching devices, wherein both the extensions and the housings are formed from metal stampings, and the extensions are imbedded in the usual insulating material which is retained between opposite relatively rigid walls of the sections. The disadvantage of such construction is that the insulation which is usually cast or molded foam, may weaken, particularly as it ages, because of dehydration or other deleterious effects and, as a result, the material which is intended to secure the housing for the latching members in correct position becomes loosened and the latches, as a result, do not maintain the sections in the tight contact which is required for this type of construction.
The present invention provides improved constructions for positively locating the housings for the cooperating latching members of such insulated panels in positive relative position with each other and with the walls of the panels, so that there can be no displacement or movement of the latch supporting housings regardless of the condition of the insulating material of each section.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide supporting means for the housings which support the latching mechanisms of insulated panels of building material which are to be secured together in such a manner that they are substantially permanently positioned so that, regardless of the stresses placed thereon or the condition of the insulating material therein, the housings will always be properly aligned and positioned and, as a result, the cooperating latching members in adjacent panels will always properly engage and latch the panels in tight relationship.